Broncos 2014 schedule announced

Caption +Denver quarterback Peyton Manning and the rest of the Broncos will host Manning's former team, the Indianapolis Colts, to open the 2014 season. (Kent Nishimura, The Gazette)

The Denver Broncos’ 2014 schedule was released Wednesday and the Broncos will open the season on Sept. 7 with a prime time matchup at home against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Broncos open the season with three straight games against teams that made the playoffs after the 2013 season. The schedule is rated as the second-most difficult in the league, according to some experts.

Below is the complete schedule:

Date, time, TV, opponent

Sept. 7, 6:30 p.m., NBC, Indianapolis Colts

Sept. 14, 2:25 p.m., CBS, Kansas City Chiefs

Sept. 21, 2:25 p.m., CBS, at Seattle Seahawks

Bye week

Oct. 5, 2:05 p.m., Fox, Arizona Cardinals

Oct. 12, 11 a.m., CBS, at New York Jets

Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m., NBC, at San Francisco 49ers

Oct. 23, 6:25 p.m., NFL/CBS, San Diego Chargers

Nov. 2, 2:25 p.m., CBS, at New England Patriots

Nov. 9, 2:05 p.m., CBS, at Oakland Raiders

Nov. 16, 11 a.m., CBS, at St. Louis Rams

Nov. 23, 2:25 p.m., CBS, Miami Dolphins

Nov. 30, 6:30 p.m., NBC, at Kansas City Chiefs

Dec. 7, 2:05 p.m., CBS, Buffalo Bills

Dec. 14, 2:05 p.m., CBS, at San Diego Chargers

Dec. 22, 6:30 p.m., ESPN, at Cincinnati Bengals

Dec. 28, 2:25 p.m., CBS, Oakland Raiders

An important change concerning this season’s slate involves flex scheduling. Games can now be flexed into "Sunday Night Football" as early as Week 5, a league source revealed to NFL.com. In the past, "flex scheduling" did not start until Week 11. The league can also "cross flex" select games between CBS and FOX.